The Temple Mount—Day Ten

Our morning began with an early trip to the Western Wall, often called the Wailing Wall, a name our guide was quick to correct. She told us that Jews prefer Western Wall because the site is a cause for rejoicing, as well as mourning. It's a relatively small section of exposed Herodian foundation stones from the time of Christ that supports the western flank of the Temple Mount.

Sunrise over the Western Wall sheds light on worshippers and tourists.

After going through a security check, we entered a large plaza leading to the wall. Men to the right, women to the left. It seems odd to western sensibilities, but religious traditions trump progressive views on this ancient site. Traversing the wide expanse which sits west of the wall, you skirt a railing separating the raised open space from the level of the excavated wall. The change from Crusader wall to the Herodian stones is obvious. The First Century blocks are massive, the largest weighing as much as a fully loaded 747. Only a few courses of the older stones are exposed with another thirty feet or so below us.

Your first impression is often the mosaic of people. Jews of all ethnicities are worshipping, praying, or celebrating in song and dance. Some stand before the wall bowing in rhythm to their prayers. Others sit apart at small desks. All have kippahs and prayer shawls. Then there are the tourists, many of them western. They all have kippahs too. It's required and reminds us that there is someone above us who is greater than we.

You can observe all manner of behavior with this lot. Phones and even more sophisticated cameras abound. Selfie sticks are easy to spot. But the closer you get to the wall, the more those things fade. And then you are face-to-face with history. You can smell it. The slightly alkaline tang of limestone. You can feel the hewn surface dance beneath your fingertips. The rock is cool to your forehead. And then you begin to pray. Glancing along the wall to your right or left you can see cheeks stained with tears, or creased in a joy. You think about the unnumbered people who have sought God in this place. And you pray some more.

You're not really sure how long you've prayed. Time seems to stand still in a place like this. It pauses, respecting the prayerful intersection of human and divine. But its suspension is temporary. There is, after all, a schedule to keep. It's a very short walk to our next destination, the Temple Mount.

Ultra-orthodox Jews mingle their prayers with those of western tourists at the Wall.

Every available crevice is mortared with small slips of paper
upon which are written the prayers of visitors to the Wall.

In Jesus day, the Mount would have been dominated by the Second Temple. Rebuilt by the returning exiles, it was later beautified by Herod the Great. Along with the Temple Mount, it is among the greatest achievements of the master builder, Herod. Since the First Century, the area has passed from the control of Romans to Byzantines, Muslims, Christians, then Muslims again, and finally to the Jewish people. Today, the Mount lies within the area controlled by the State of Israel, but the administration of the site remains in the hands of the Islamic Waqf, a religious trust ensured by Israeli law. Security is tight and the Israeli guards are particular in their observance of any restrictions ordered by the Waqf. However, there is another authority present as evidenced by this sign.

This curious sign appears as you enter security. The warning acknowledges that there is no way to
be certain where the Holy of Holies stood, and even unintended desecration is dangerous.

Like most pilgrims and tourists, we ignored the warning and ascended the mount. The first substantial structure you see is the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Its architecture shows features of Byzantine influence despite an original construction dated to the 7th Century. The mosque was reconstructed and expanded in 690 along with the Dome of the Rock. It's suffered earthquake and other damage over the years and is always rebuilt, most recently by the Waqf.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque's facade

The mosque with its lead-covered dome seen from the Western Wall Plaza.

The Dome, seen below, is the other major structure on the Mount. It was originally constructed in 691 at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik. The Dome is built on the site of a Roman temple dedicated to the worship of Jupiter, which in turn was built on the site of the Second Temple after the destruction of Jerusalem. The Dome is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Contrary to popular belief, the Dome is not a mosque, but is instead is a shrine commemorating what Muslims believe was a miraculous journey taken by Muhammad on a flying horse from Mecca to the "farthest mosque." According to legend, they touched down on the summit rock of Mount Moriah, where in Genesis 22 Abraham was ordered to offered Issac as a sacrifice.

The Dome of the Rock viewed from the al-Kas fountain.

A panorama of the Temple Mount looking Northwest. The small cupola in the background left,
is considered by some to be where the Holy of Holies was located.

We descended the Temple Mount to the northeast, through a pleasant open park that soon gave way to a narrow passage through the Lion Gate. We made our way along a street so narrow that it could only be described as an alley, though it served to bring us to the Pool of Bethesda and St. Anne's Church.

That two disparate site would live in such close proximity is not surprising. In Israel, history touches history, with places and events overlaid upon one another like a woven lattice. The site of a biblical healing recorded in John chapter five shares space with one of the finest examples of medieval church architecture. We were able to see and hear about Jesus healing the paralytic and within a few minutes, we were within the church worshipping the One who heals.

Normally groups entering St. Anne's are limited to sing one song before they're ushered out. We were blessed to have as much time as we liked since no group was immediately following ours. According to some B4 Israel veterans who had been on multiple trips, this was unusual.

This site is identified with the Pool of Bethesda which was thought to be metaphorical
in the biblical account before archaeologists unearthed these ruins in the 19th Century.

The Church of St. Anne is named after the mother of Mary, Jesus' grandmother.
It offers unrivaled acoustics and the resulting beauty of any congregational singing within its
sanctuary. It's also one of the finest examples of medieval church architecture. 

Listen to the resonance...

Following our time in the church, we broke for lunch in a nearby neighborhood with a deli that offered "The World's Greatest Sandwich". Some of us ate there, ordering their Jerusalem Special. One catch: you have to eat it without asking what's in it. :-)

Freshly fueled by good, if not mysterious, food, we headed to the City of David. It's the oldest part of Jerusalem which David captured from the Canaanite tribe of Jebusites in c. 1004 B.C. After being occupied by David’s forces, the old Jebusite settlement was renamed the City of David and the ridge on which it stood was christened Mount Zion. The city was watered by the Gihon Spring from which the Jebusites hauled water from a sloping tunnel that ended in a narrow vertical shaft. It was through this tunnel and shaft that David and his army entered the city.

Centuries later, Hezekiah would connect the spring to the Pool of Siloam through an engineering marvel: a half mile tunnel dug from solid rock. His workers started at both ends working towards each other and eventually meeting in the middle. That's tough to do by modern standards, let alone almost 3000 years ago.

Ongoing excavation in the City of David is uncovering more of the oldest parts of Jerusalem.

Ruins from 1000 B.C. and prior nestle close to residential neighborhoods in the City of David.

A popular activity for tourists is to walk the length of this tunnel through thigh deep water. As you can see below, there's a fork in the journey. To the left lay the Caananite ruins and straight ahead, a wet, chilly half-mile trek.

The archeological site is best known for its Iron Age structures attributed to the Judean kings, beginning with David. It also contains older Canaanite infrastructure dated to the Middle Bronze Age which, like many ancient parts of Jerusalem, is under the present ground level. Those of us who opted for the dry tour through Warren's Tunnel (or Shaft, named after its discoverer Sir Charles Warren), well, we were able to view the foundations of the Jebusite fortress in relative comfort.

Each feature of the ruins is brilliantly lit by the exhibit designers

Down we go, always down...

Some early Bronze Age foundation courses are visible wedged between natural formations.

The exhibit alternated between shoulder-width cracks we had to navigate and large rooms
like the one above with its massive Canaanite foundation stones.

The exit, and daylight...

After leaving the complex of tunnels, we arrived at the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed the man born blind as recorded in John 9. It was the main water source for Jerusalem in Jesus' day. It was also known as the Lower Pool (Isaiah 22) after Hezekiah sealed the natural "Upper Pool" of the Gihon Springs, which once fed above-ground aqueducts. The spring was secured by the King to protect Jerusalem's water source that was now directed to the Pool of Siloam by his underground tunnel.

More than a water source, it also fostered community as the populace would visit daily while replenishing their supply of fresh, potable water. According to John, a man born blind would beg for alms at, or near the pool, where large numbers of people gathered. When Jesus healed him, he made mud from dirt and spittle, applying the poultice to the man's eyes. Jesus then instructed him to wash in the pool. A miraculous healing ensued, with the man declaring later when pressed about Jesus, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

In such a public venue the outcry was immediate and soon the man was taken before the Pharisees. Jesus had made mud on the Sabbath in the course of healing. He had "worked." Our work was not yet done. We explored a small excavation opposite the pool's entry and there found more of the surrounding structure.

The stone structure to the left are steps that would have led down into the freshwater pool.

Our group explores nearby excavation which is halted by nearby residential neighborhoods.

The exhibit includes an artist's rendition of how the pool may have looked in Jesus' day.

With the afternoon waning, we return to our buses and head to our final destination, the Southern steps of the Temple Mount. Sitting south, and a little west of the mount is a broad plaza. It offers a beautiful view of a southern corner of the mount, known as The Pinnacle of the Temple. Many will remember this from the narrative of Jesus' Temptation, where he was instructed by Satan to cast Himself off. Refusing, Jesus replied "“It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test." And the Devil withdrew from Him until a more opportune time.

One of our guides, Susan Marcus, teaching her group about the Western Wall excavations

The plaza also hosts a beautiful museum, the Davidson Center, which features static exhibits related to the Western Wall excavations and a multi-media presentation of Temple worship during the Herodian period. Just to the north of the center, the plaza opens to a more modern structure with large dressed stones. The mortar between the pavers is filled with pottery shards recovered at the site. Covering many acres, it lends scale to the extent of the archeological richness in the area that recovered ancient pottery pieces can be used as building material.

The Pinnacle

Part of a large complex of structures recently uncovered as the Southern Steps

The Steps are much more than just stairs leading up to the Temple Mount. They included collonades housing
all manner of commerce, where sacrificial animals of every kind could be acquired by worshippers.
Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. The large commercial interests that collected around Temple worship was
known popularly as Annas Bizarre. He profited greatly from the activity that Jesus condemned in
His cleansing of the Temple.

These ruins and the reconstructed stairs marked the end of our tour. Later in the evening we would gather at the hotel o share dessert and celebrate with our guides, but as the sun sat lower in the sky, we had come to an ending of things. After teaching, Pastor Randy invited our guides to sing one of the Psalms of Ascent in Hebrew. The three women obliged and the soft unison of their voices rang from the surrounding limestone.

Though we did not understand the words, we could not mistake the longing in their melody. It was an ideal precursor to a rich tie of prayer that we shared in groups of two or three. We ended our tour in the same manner that we had begun. Following the footsteps of Jesus, all the way from the Galilee up to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.